Back when I was a kid, the worst thing that could happen if you got caught toilet papering a house was a call to your parents. Times have changed and the risks of childish pranks have changed with them. On Sunday, a 14-year-old was shot while he and his buddies were draping a southwestern Michigan house with toilet paper.
The owner of the home claims he thought that someone was trying to break into his house. So, he did what any red-blooded American would do - he came out shooting. He fired three shots from his 12-gauge shotgun, striking the boy in the chest, stomach and leg.
Fortunately, the child survived and is recovering in the hospital. The homeowner wasn't arrested, but a prosecutor is considering charges against him.
Given the fact that is was one o-clock in the morning, I can see where the homeowner might be a bit startled to hear activity outside his home. But I question his instinct to shoot first and ask questions later. Considering that the boys were in his yard - not his house - wouldn't a call to 911 have been a better course of action?
Every four years since 1940, Scholastic Magazine has asked young readers to pick the next president. In all but two of those 'elections', the kids have chosen the candidate who went on to win the presidency (they failed to predict Harry Truman in 1948 and John F. Kennedy in 1960).
Because of that impressive record, some people put a lot of stock in the results of Scholastic's election results. So, who did about 250,000 pre-K through 12th grade students choose for our next president this time? Democrat Barack Obama. And not just by a little bit, either. Obama got 57% of the vote compared to Republican John McCain's 39%.
Now, you might be wondering just what do these kids know that would allow them to correctly predict our next president 88% of the time. Rebecca Bondor, editor in chief of Scholastic's classroom magazine, credits family influence. "Kids do listen to their parents, and they discuss politics in their families," she says . But she also says that with today's easy access to information, many kids are forming their own opinions.
As for the remaining 4% of the vote, those went to write-in candidates. Hilary Clinton got most of those, but Ralph Nader, Ron Paul, Stephen Colbert and "my dad" also garnered some votes.
So, there you have it. Like it or not, the kids have spoken. Do you think they've got it right?
While America waits on the edge of its seat to see who will win the Presidential election, teenagers everywhere are engaged in a much more "important" vote -- that of homecoming king and queen. Though Election 2008 may be anything but settled, high school homecoming results are usually far more predictable.
Not so at Aledo High School in Texas where teens recently voted Kristin Pass as their queen. What's so special about Kristin? Not only is she "the coolest kid in the whole wide world," according to her aunt, Chari Hust, she also has Down syndrome. "Everyone in the stands burst into tears -- I've never heard anything so loud in my life," said Hust. And Kristin? She mouthed the words "thank you" to the crowd while wearing "a smile as big as the state of Texas."
Hust says there was no campaign to elect Kristin, but that she's just a beloved friend among her peers. Making the story especially poignant is the fact that Kristin's dad passed away suddenly two years ago. Her grandfather stepped in for him to escort Kristin onto stage. "You can't measure how proud I was," he said. "Every fiber in my body was happy for her."
In a month that's been littered with economic crisis and political backbiting, those darn kids in Texas just restored my hope in humanity. Congratulations, Kristin.
It seems that expressing your views via signs, protests and letters to the editor has become passé. These days, it is all about using your name (or the name of your newborn child) to get your point across. Like this teen who decided that her given name, Jennifer Thornburg, didn't really convey her passion. To bring awareness to her opposition to the dissection of animals in schools, the 19-year-old legally changed her name to CutoutDissection.com.
Her family still calls her Jennifer, but to the rest of the world she is Cutout. She says that she first began opposing animal dissections in middle school and while in high school, helped create a policy that allows like-minded students to complete an alternative assignment rather than dissect an animal.
Having graduated high school, Cutout is now working as an intern at - you guessed it - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Her Web address name is the same as PETA's anti-dissection page, where you can learn all about the horrors of cutting up creatures in the name of education.
Cutout says that her name is a great conversation starter and that it gives her lots of opportunities to spread the word about alternatives to dissection. I am sure her name also provides lots of opportunities to be laughed at and made fun of, but I admire her willingness to suffer for her cause.
A group of teenage girls, fourteen and fifteen years old, had the brilliant idea of writing their mobile phone numbers on their backs with blue skin cream so that boys could see them when the girls were sunbathing. The girls were hoping to attract some attention, but admitted that they got some they weren't looking for. "An old guy tried to talk to me. He was trying to take pictures of us," said one fifteen-year-old.
Nikki Goldstein, author of Girlforce, thinks it's a bad idea. "They're in their bikinis, showing off their bodies, objectifying themselves in a way that is, to my mind, a bit trashy," she explained. "Really what they're saying is 'Dial me up for sex'." Child protection experts are warning other girls not to follow this example and Goldstein notes that "we'd never advise girls to broadcast their phone number on the internet or anywhere that could make them a target."
The girls themselves see it as just being a good bit of fun, especially since they're not planning on going any further than chatting. "We come for both the beach and the boys, but I'm taken, so it's all good," said one. Unfortunately, it's not always "all good" and not everyone at the beach is someone you want to have your phone number.
Thanks to Google's Street View, anyone with an Internet connection can virtually tour the streets of cities across the United States. The tool allows you to see 360° images of neighborhoods just as if you were driving down that very street. It's a unique way to get an up-close and personal look at places like Times Square in New York and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. But Street View also lets users get up-close and personal looks at homes, schools and playgrounds. And those views, says a children's advocacy group, put kids at risk.
Stop Internet Predators has asked Google to remove the city of Pittsburgh from Street View because they say that images showing kids, toys and family cars make it easier for pedophiles to find potential victims. A spokesperson for Google says they have a process in which users may request certain images be blurred or removed from Street View, but Stop Internet Predators executive Director Stacie Rumenap says that isn't good enough.
"We want parents to have the opportunity to safeguard their children and for them to have the level of privacy and security they deserve," she said. "Our children's safety should always be the No. 1 concern when allowing a new technology to come into our neighborhoods, and putting the burden on parents to opt out of the system seems unacceptable."
Although Rumenap acknowledges that there have been no crimes against children attributed to Street View, she still thinks it should go offline until all images that might identify where children live, study or play are removed. I am not sure how this could realistically be accomplished, but Rumenap's group is actively pursuing that goal in several other cities as well. I've never used Street View for anything other than wasting time online and wouldn't care one way or the other if it went away. But does showing actual images of schools, playgrounds and homes really put children at higher risk of being victimized? Or is this just pedophile paranoia?
What were you thinking? If you're a parent of a teen, you may have found yourself asking this question more than once. According to recent research, if a teen answered the question honestly, they might says, "I wasn't." Experts say that a teen's risky behavior often has little thought behind it at all.
Which makes the fact that teens often have free reign over technology a little scary. Take the new trend of teens taking naked pictures of themselves or others and either sending them to friends or posting them on the Internet. What a lot of these kids may not realize, as their parents do, is that once a picture is on the Internet, it has the potential to exist forever.
One 15-year-old girl is learning that lesson the hard way. She took naked pictures of herself, then sent them off to classmates. If she was looking for attention, she got it. Authorities recently charged her with illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented materials, and she could even be named a sex offender. The students who received her photos may face charges as well, since the photos are considered child pornography.
Authorities say that the practice is ballooning and that kids don't realize how much trouble they can get themselves into, not to mention others. A field hockey coach was recently convicted on child pornography charges after one of his athletes sent him a photo of herself in her underwear. If you think that this issue warrants a discussion in your house, visit SafetyClicks for advice on how to keep kids safe online.
Many cities have alternative schools where kids who might otherwise drop out are given the opportunity to stay in school and graduate. These at-risk kids are often the victims of neglect or poverty and may have already found themselves on the wrong side of the law. But, according to a 2003 Chicago Public School District study, there is another group of at-risk kids who might benefit from an alternative school of their own: gay, lesbian and transgender teenagers.
Studies show that gay high school students are three times more likely to miss school because they feel unsafe. Because the stigma and fear of violence puts these kids at greater risk of dropping out altogether, the Chicago Public School District has proposed a school just for them. The School for Social Justice Pride would have a maximum enrollment of 600 students who would be admitted on a lottery basis. The school would have the same staffing and oversight as other schools, but would include lessons about sexual identity in literature and history as well as offering counseling.
"We want to create great new options for communities that have been traditionally underserved," said schools chief Arne Duncan. "If you look at national studies, you see gay and lesbian students with high dropout rates. . . . I think there is a niche there we need to fill."
While the idea seems to have plenty of support, it is not going over well with some gay rights advocates. They want to see schools focus on fostering acceptance, not segregation.
The Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the matter on October 22nd and if passed, Chicago's first gay high school would open in 2009.
As a teacher, here in the U.S., my wife is required to report suspected cases of child abuse or endangerment. If she sees or hears something that indicates there could be a problem, she is obligated to contact child protective services. I'm okay with that -- sometimes, kids need protection even from their own family. In England, however, it seems the government wants to take that a step further -- by having teachers report potential terrorists to the police.
The plan extends the "in loco parentis" responsibilities of teachers to include keeping an eye out for pupils who consider violent extremism an option. Francis Gilbert, a teacher who would have to watch out for these disgruntled teenagers (are there really any other kind?), has written a critique of the idea noting that students, aware that their teachers might turn them in, would be afraid to say anything that might be considered anti-establishment.
The teenage years, especially, are a time when kids rebel against the status quo, looking for ways to solve the problems they see and improve society. From the Beatles to Romeo and Juliet, this is part of growing up, part of becoming the next generation. Setting teacher out to crush that is a very bad idea.
The Kansas City Academy offers kids in grades 6-12 foods like pizza with whole wheat crust, hormone-free cheese and organic toppings. What salad with that? Help yourself to greens and veggies grown in a nearby organic, pesticide-free garden.
The school is one of three in the Kansas City area participating in Bistro Kids' Farm 2 School program, which replaces your basic, high-fat cafeteria fare like cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets with natural, locally grown food, such as free-range meats.
Whats that? You're vegetarian, you say? Vegan, even? No worries, just ask the chef to prepare you a special, fresh meal that meets your dietary requirements.
Bistro Kids' owner, Kiersten Firquain, believes kids' dietary habits contribute to poor physical and mental health, and she isn't alone in that belief. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of overweight kids has increased drastically in the past 20 years, which in turn has increased the number of kids with diabetes.
Schools have responded by trying to offer fresh-food alternatives, but are often stymied by cost. Those with high poverty rates suffer the most -- the federal government reimburses schools about $2.57 per free meal served, but most districts say an average meal costs $2.88.
Students who participate in free-lunch programs are often the ones most in need of a nutritional boost. I, for one, would be more than willing to put a few more bucks in my school-tax bill to help children in my neighborhood eat a healthier diet. How about you?
Those classic cartoons we loved as children may have been violent, but they could have been much worse. When Bugs Bunny gets shoved off a cliff, he doesn't splatter into bloody pieces. He just gets up and walks away from the bunny-shaped indentation he left on the ground. When Tweety ends up in Sylvester's mouth, he doesn't crunch up into bird bits. He gets spat out whole.
Looney Tunes cartoons are violent, but they never show the reality of the consequences of the violence. At least they don't on television. Those consequences are displayed in all their bloody glory in a new art exhibit by James Cauty called "Splatter". On display at London's Aquarium Gallery, the show features the famous Looney Tunes characters like you've never seen them before. There is a blood-soaked Daffy Duck minus his head, which has been blown off by a gun-toting Bugs Bunny. There's Jerry, having finally been caught by Tom, hacked into small, bloody pieces. And Tweety is nowhere to be seen, but Sylvester's blood-covered mouth gives you a good idea where he went.
The exhibit is described as 'unrelenting acts of blood and discomfort never previously witnessed on the Cartoon Network' and is intended to shock. "Its very difficult to shock kids these days - you have cartoon characters being shot in the head and walking off cliffs, so we have decided to replace them with something more realistic," says the 51-year-old artist.
Despite the 'Parental Advisory Content' warning on the exhibit, kids are enjoying the show. "It's amazing work, and from the reactions we've had to it so far, children have loved it," says gallery owner Steve Lowe. "It should be a very successful show, and will raise lots of questions about violence in the media and in our culture."
Do the kids like it just because they recognize the characters? Or have children really become so desensitized to violence that it no longer shocks them?
All I can say is that I'm sure glad they didn't have this system when I was a teenager. Ford is introducing a system that allows parents to control a vehicle's maximum speed, limit the radio volume, and even ensure that seatbelts are worn. All of this is part of a system called MyKey that will initially be standard on the 2010 Ford Focus due out next year and on other vehicles in the future.
The system comes with up to eight keys, each of which can have its own settings. Parents control the system with a master key. "Teens are probably the riskiest drivers," said Sue Cischke, group vice president of sustainability, environment and safety engineering at Ford. "MyKey helps parents encourage their teens to drive safely." More like forces them to drive, well, safer, anyway. Take the seatbelts, for example. Not only is the car more annoying in reminding occupants to buckle up, but the stereo won't come on until everyone's belted in.
As a teen, I don't think I would have liked this system but, as a parent, I am definitely intrigued. This seems a lot simpler than following them around all the time.
Last week, when a student at Trinity Lutheran School in Monroe, Michigan found she was missing $42, the principal of the school assumed the money must have been stolen. Determined to find the thief, principal John Hilken ordered teachers to strip-search a group of 7th grade girls.
According to one mom, this treatment was uncalled for and she and others have filed police complaints. "Some were taken down to their bra and panties and some had to pull their tops out and shake them," said Martha Feller, whose daughter was among the stripped and searched suspects. "They treat criminals like that, not 12-year-old innocent children," she said.
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In hindsight, principal Hilken realizes that perhaps this wasn't the best way to handle the situation. He has apologized, but some parents feel this isn't enough. Martha Feller's daughter is so upset about it that she hasn't returned to school since the incident. "I hope that they will take them out of that school and make them pay for what they did to the children," Feller says.
I remember an incident in third grade that made me not want to return to school. After complaining to my teacher about an itchy chest, she unbuttoned my top to have a look. Right there in front of the whole class, she opened my shirt wide and examined my body. The fact that all these years later I can still vividly recall that humiliation is a testament to just how mortifying it was. I agree with Feller and think the principal owes more than an apology to these girls. Maybe he should be strip-searched to see if his compassion and common sense can be located.
Sure, we have a problem with childhood obesity in this country but, come on, what country doesn't? What's it going to hurt to let kids pig out one night a year? I mean, Halloween only comes once a year, just like Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, birthdays (of siblings and friends), anniversaries... Okay, so maybe they do end up eating a lot of junk a lot of the time.
Some parents are trying to make a difference -- by skipping the Halloween candy and handing out less fattening treats. Toys, pencils, stickers, Play-doh, and glow sticks are some of the alternatives people are handing out. "I thought, here I am trying to take care of my health," says Lisa Bruno, of Des Plaines, Illinois, who ditched the candy five years ago. "I felt a responsibility to my community to take care of the kids around me."
Experts suggest that Halloween can be used as a vehicle for teaching kids about portion size and limits to help them deal with food issues all year long. "It's important that we as parents help them find the balance between that very traditional fun activity and a healthy lifestyle," says Connie Diekman, past president of the American Dietetic Association.
I like the idea of giving out pencils or Play-doh -- things that will last longer than the length of a single swallow. I'm not so sure, however, how kids feel about it. Are you giving out candy or a less sugary alternative this year?
It's important for kids to read in order to become well-rounded, knowledgeable adults and positive members of society. It turns out there's another benefit to reading -- it can lead to weight loss. Scientists at Duke Children's Hospital in North Carolina have found that overweight girls who were given a book that featured an overweight girl reduced their body mass index by one percent in just six months.
The book the girls read, Lake Rescue, promotes a healthy lifestyle, including exercise. A control group that was not given the book actually increased their BMI by half a percent. Even though the loss was small, it represents a significant impact because the expected outcome, sans book, would be for the girls to increase their BMI, as, in fact, the girls in the control group did.
"The idea that a book can positively influence weight loss and decrease BMI is encouraging because it's fairly easy to implement," says Dr. Sarah Armstrong, who specializes in Nutritional Disorders and Obesity at Duke. "And it's a welcome addition to a world where there aren't a lot of alternatives." Whether a healthier lifestyle is a good reason to read or reading is a good way to live a healthier life, I say it's a win-win situation.
Back when I was a kid, the worst thing that could happen if you got caught toilet papering a house was a call to your parents. Times have changed and the risks of childish pranks have changed with them. On Sunday, a 14-year-old was shot while he and his buddies were draping a southwestern Michigan house with toilet paper.
Every four years since 1940, 
While America waits on the edge of its seat to see who will win the Presidential election, teenagers everywhere are engaged in a much more "important" vote -- that of homecoming king and queen. Though Election 2008 may be anything but settled, high school homecoming results are usually far more predictable.
It seems that expressing your views via signs, protests and letters to the editor has become passé. These days, it is all about using your name (or the name of your 
A group of teenage girls, fourteen and fifteen years old, had the brilliant idea of 
Thanks to Google's 
What were you thinking? If you're a parent of a teen, you may have found yourself asking this question more than once. According to recent research, if a teen answered the question honestly, they might says, "I wasn't." Experts say that a teen's risky behavior 
Many cities have alternative schools where kids who might otherwise drop out are given the opportunity to stay in school and graduate. These at-risk kids are often the victims of neglect or poverty and may have already found themselves on the wrong side of the law. But, according to a 2003 Chicago Public School District study, there is another group of at-risk kids who might benefit from an alternative school of their own: gay, lesbian and transgender teenagers. 
As a teacher, here in the U.S., my wife is required to report suspected cases of child abuse or endangerment. If she sees or hears something that indicates there could be a problem, she is obligated to contact child protective services. I'm okay with that -- sometimes, kids need protection even from their own family. In England, however, it seems the government wants to take that a step further -- by having teachers 
Chef-prepared vegan meals? Organic salad bar? Free-range meats?
Those classic cartoons we loved as children may have been violent, but they could have been much worse. When Bugs Bunny gets shoved off a cliff, he doesn't splatter into bloody pieces. He just gets up and walks away from the bunny-shaped indentation he left on the ground. When Tweety ends up in Sylvester's mouth, he doesn't crunch up into bird bits. He gets spat out whole. 
All I can say is that I'm sure glad they didn't have this system when I was a teenager. Ford is 
Last week, when a student at Trinity Lutheran School in Monroe, Michigan found she was missing $42, the principal of the school assumed the money must have been stolen. Determined to find the thief, principal John Hilken ordered teachers to 
Sure, we have a problem with childhood obesity in this country but, come on, 
It's important for kids to read in order to become well-rounded, knowledgeable adults and positive members of society. It turns out there's another benefit to reading -- 
